Im very curious as to why (and how) exactly some people try and say that ''Police Community Support Officers, are not 'Officers of the Police force/Police Officers''??

This has really got me very confused, since the title PCSO actually contains the word 'Police Officer' in it,
wheras the title 'Police Constable' doesn't technically.

The way i view and would define it is that a PCSO is ''An Officer of the police force whos role is to support the community by focusing on community/street crime'',
so how can people say they are not an 'Officer of the Police force'?

I am just very very confused by the whole notion of Police community officers being seen as ''a weaker and more fraile version of constables''.
when i infact thought it would be viewed as the other way around if anything.

PCSOS are the 1s who do the majority of the actual 'physical frontline policing', and are 'tough' enough to be able to do it without even having the use of handcuffs, batons or CS spray.

Wheras constables role is more the role of basically being a ''security secretary''.
In that the majority of the incidents that they will be called out to deal with are domestic/in-house ones, where there has already been an incident thats happended, and now they have been called to turnup, show the security presence, and then just write down all the details as the person dictates it to them,
then go back to their station and spend a few hours behind a computer screen typing it all up, filling out all the various forms, ticking all the boxes,
before being called out again to taking down some more details/picking up detainees who have ALREADY been detained by PCSOS, taking the detainees back to the station and then spending a few more hours doing all the paperwork for that.

So im just very confused as to why the general public/media seem to have a different view and image of PCSOS and PCS??

PCSOS are the 1s who do the majority of the actual 'physical frontline policing', and are 'tough' enough to be able to do it without even having the use of handcuffs, batons or CS spray.

Wheras constables role is more the role of basically being a ''security secretary''.In that the majority of the incidents that they will be called out to deal with are domestic/in-house ones, where there has already been an incident thats happended, and now they have been called to turnup, show the security presence, and then just write down all the details as the person dictates it to them,then go back to their station and spend a few hours behind a computer screen typing it all up, filling out all the various forms, ticking all the boxes,before being called out again to taking down some more details/picking up detainees who have ALREADY been detained by PCSOS, taking the detainees back to the station and then spending a few more hours doing all the paperwork for that.

What? Everything you wrote there bears no resemblance to reality.

PCSO's are a visible deterrent to anti social behaviour.

Their primary purpose is to improve the community and offer greater public reassurance. In support of regular police officers they will work within a targeted patrol area to provide a visible and accessible uniformed presence; work with partners and community organisations to address anti-social behaviour, the fear of crime, environmental issues and other factors which affect the quality of peoples lives. For example; reporting vandalism or damaged street furniture, reporting suspicious activity; providing crime prevention advice, deterring juvenile nuisance and visiting victims of crime.

Police Officers have a greater array of powers. Kind of like Blue Power Ranger.

I love this post, this is such a wind up. PCSOs do have more power.....they can search for cigs, Police constables cant. They can refuse to attend most jobs making constables go by claiming its not within their remit..... Ps. I do think a good PCSO is a good idea.

Yes, but the support part is ''COMMUNITY SUPPORT'',not ''CONSTABLE SUPPORT''!!

They are Officers of the police force whos role is to SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY by policing it.

NOT to ''SUPPORT THE CONSTABLES'' by doing their job for them.

Thats why their title is 'Community-Support'.

Police officers are also just civilian staff.

We dont have a military police force like some other countries do,and so constables are still just civilian employees.

The ONLY actual extra powers that they have are powers to search people, and to arrest someone a long time after an incident has happended, if they are now investigating and need to speak to the person in the station.

Police officers are not civilian staff; I've got no idea where you got that information from, because as a Police officer you have to swear allegience to the Crown, and as part of your role are given greater arrest and other powers, more so than a member of the public, which includes PCSO's who are police staff.
To put it in context I arrested a drink-driver a couple of months ago, and the only person available to help me was a PCSO, for which I got told off in custody, as due to risk assessments etc, they're not allowed in there as they're not meant to be confrontational.

I've attached the Police Federation 'Office of Constable' paper, which may I suggest you read, particularly page 6.

Im very curious as to why (and how) exactly some people try and say that ''Police Community Support Officers, are not 'Officers of the Police force/Police Officers''?? huh2.gif speechless.gif what.gif

This has really got me very confused, since the title PCSO actually contains the word 'Police Officer' in it,wheras the title 'Police Constable' doesn't technically.

The way i view and would define it is that a PCSO is ''An Officer of the police force whos role is to support the community by focusing on community/street crime'',so how can people say they are not an 'Officer of the Police force'?

I am just very very confused by the whole notion of Police community officers being seen as ''a weaker and more fraile version of constables''.when i infact thought it would be viewed as the other way around if anything. stop.gif cool.gif whistle2.gif

PCSOS are the 1s who do the majority of the actual 'physical frontline policing', and are 'tough' enough to be able to do it without even having the use of handcuffs, batons or CS spray.

Wheras constables role is more the role of basically being a ''security secretary''.In that the majority of the incidents that they will be called out to deal with are domestic/in-house ones, where there has already been an incident thats happended, and now they have been called to turnup, show the security presence, and then just write down all the details as the person dictates it to them,then go back to their station and spend a few hours behind a computer screen typing it all up, filling out all the various forms, ticking all the boxes,before being called out again to taking down some more details/picking up detainees who have ALREADY been detained by PCSOS, taking the detainees back to the station and then spending a few more hours doing all the paperwork for that.

So im just very confused as to why the general public/media seem to have a different view and image of PCSOS and PCS?? huh2.gif

I have never read such nonsense

James mate a PCSO is an unsworn civilian member of police staff/ family

They are not police officers! end of story, i am in total disbelief to what is posted above to be quite honest and it screams "TROLL" at me

My bold ermmm what about NRT/response/team these officers have sometimes no idea what they are going to on a blue light run, and PCSOs do not and are not on the frontline of policing its the dedicated Response teams that each force has and come running if somebody dials 999 that are on the frontline!

PCSOS are the 1s who do the majority of the actual 'physical frontline policing', and are 'tough' enough to be able to do it without even having the use of handcuffs, batons or CS spray.

What! PCSOS as said in my post above are not on the frontline, in fact they are often sheltered from what goes on, as there role is NON confrontational which is why they are not issued with PPE asp PAVA etc, PCSOs can not attended grade 1 or I grade calls, they are told to stay away while a trained PC or SC for that matter goes and puts there own lives on the line to deal with the situation is a calm and professional manner

so where ever you have obtained these facts from they are completely wrong and I would get them out of your head now, and i do hope you never join the job!

We dont have a military police force like some other countries do,and so constables are still just civilian employees.

ERMMM We do have military police MOD police ring any bellss????

and no constables are not civilian employees.

A constable is a citizen who is locally appointed under the crown to hold the office of constable, this means that they are attested constables and hold powers, i dont think you understand this??

Hmmmm, not really sure where to start with this but I don't want to offend people or pick a fight...

Ok well the role of a PCSO is quite a grey area in some forces as unlike our Police Officer colleagues, our powers aren't standardised.

The CC from each individual force selects from quite a fair list of powers which ones he/she deems appropriate for the PCSO's to have and it goes from there. This may explain why the media are unsure about what we do and how we do it.

Also, consider the actual role title: POLICE COMMUNITY SUPPORT OFFICER. To me that means I support both the Police and the Community. You could also interpret is as a bit of a Police Officer and providing a bit of Community Support.

The role is designed to be 'non-confrontational' but as we all know, things happen. I don't go looking for trouble but I've broken up a couple of fights in my two and a bit years and that's not because I think I'm a Police Officer or I was abusing any position/intentionally exceeding my remit....it was a case of I'm human at the end of the day and if I don't step in and pull someone away, they're going to get really hurt. We ALL have a duty of care, regardless of what role we perform and if challenged, I could have easily justified my actions to my skipper.

The role of a PCSO or PC is what you make of it, I love my job and I am in the process of becoming a Police Officer but for the time being I am a PCSO, I'm proud of what I do. I feel honoured to put on the uniform (bar the hat lol!) and work alongside a fantastic bunch of PCSO's, Police Officers and civilian employees who make my days worthwhile.

So the moral of the story is..........

WE'RE ALL WORKING TOWARDS THE SAME GOAL AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO CARRIES CUFFS & ASPS OR WHO KNOWS MORE ABOUT A CERTAIN SUBJECT....WE'RE ALL IN IT TOGETHER! :O)